KCPW

What KCPW does

KCPW was a Utah non-profit public radio station owned and operated by Wasatch Public Media, a Utah non-profit corporation. Founded in November 1992, the station broadcast on 88.3 FM and 105.3 FM as Utah's first 24-hour commercial-free news and information service, initially launching from studios in Park City, Utah, before relocating first to a trailer on Westminster College's campus and ultimately to the exterior wall of Salt Lake City's flagship Main Library. KCPW produced and distributed original local programming including 'Behind the Headlines' (co-produced with The Salt Lake Tribune), 'Both Sides of the Aisle' (bipartisan political debate), 'In the Hive' (current affairs), 'Hinckley Institute Radio Hour' (in partnership with the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah), and 'Jazz Time with Steve Williams,' alongside carry content from national networks including NPR and BBC.

The underlying technology stack was conventional terrestrial FM broadcasting supplemented by online live streaming at stream.xmission.com/kcpw and podcast distribution via RSS to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, and YouTube. The station's marketing and distribution mix covered FM, live streaming, podcasts, Facebook, Twitter/X, RSS, email, and on-air community event promotion, with no AI/ML capabilities disclosed in the data.

KCPW was funded through a non-profit, member-supported revenue model combining recurring listener/member donations (conducted via periodic pledge drives) with corporate underwriting drawn from arts/entertainment, retail, education/non-profit, corporate/professional services, and dining/food businesses in the Salt Lake Valley. Following 31 years of continuous service, Wasatch Public Media sold KCPW 88.3 FM's license and assets to KUER/PBS Utah on September 28, 2023 (announced) with the FCC assignment of license filed on November 1, 2023; KCPW ceased operations on October 31, 2023, and 88.3 FM was to be repurposed as a bilingual Spanish-language public radio station.

Name

KCPW

Legal name

Wasatch Public Media

Website

https://kcpw.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

KCPW was a member-supported, non-profit public radio station owned by Wasatch Public Media that broadcast commercial-free local news, politics, and culture programming on 88.3 FM and 105.3 FM to the Salt Lake Valley from 1992 until it ceased operations on October 31, 2023 following its sale to KUER/PBS Utah.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Radio Broadcasting

NAICS

Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611)

SIC

Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)

akta.pro primary industry

Public/Noncommercial Radio Broadcasting (NPR, Community, Campus) (MPAIAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public/Community Local Stations (PBS Member Stations, Community Radio, LPFM) (MPABACAG)

Keywords

• Public radio broadcasting
• Local news programming
• Community journalism
• Podcast distribution
• Corporate underwriting

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Listener/Member Donations: Member-supported public radio station relying on donations from listeners, with pledge drives conducted periodically to generate support
2. Corporate Underwriting: Sponsorships from local businesses and organizations in exchange for on-air acknowledgment. Categories include arts/entertainment, retail, education/non-profit, corporate/professional services, and dining/food businesses

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

KCPW was a nonprofit, member-supported public radio station that broadcast 24-hour commercial-free news, information, and cultural programming on 88.3 FM and 105.3 FM to the Salt Lake Valley. The station produced original local programs (Behind the Headlines, Both Sides of the Aisle, In the Hive, Jazz Time, Hinckley Institute Radio Hour), distributed on-demand podcasts via RSS and major platforms, and offered live online streaming. KCPW was owned by Wasatch Public Media and ceased broadcasting on October 31, 2023 after its license was sold to KUER/PBS Utah.

Product overview

KCPW was Utah's first 24-hour commercial-free news and information radio station, operated by Wasatch Public Media as a membership-supported nonprofit public radio service. The station broadcast on 88.3 FM and 105.3 FM to the Salt Lake Valley from 1992 until October 31, 2023, when it was sold to KUER/PBS Utah. The product portfolio consists of live radio broadcasts, on-demand podcast distribution via major platforms, live streaming audio, and locally-produced original programs including Behind the Headlines (in partnership with The Salt Lake Tribune), Both Sides of the Aisle, In the Hive, Jazz Time with Steve Williams, and the Hinckley Institute Radio Hour. The station also provided a community calendar service and offered underwriting/sponsorship opportunities to local businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• KCPW Radio Broadcast 24-hour commercial-free news and information radio programming broadcast on 88.3 FM and 105.3 FM serving the Salt Lake Valley audience.
• Podcast Distribution On-demand podcast episodes of local and national programming distributed via RSS feeds and major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
• Live Streaming Audio Live online audio streaming of KCPW radio broadcasts accessible via computer or media player at stream.xmission.com/kcpw.
• Behind the Headlines Weekly news roundtable co-produced with The Salt Lake Tribune featuring reporters discussing top local stories. Airs Fridays at 9 AM and Sundays at 10 AM.
• Both Sides of the Aisle Weekly political debate show featuring voices representing the Right, Center, and Left discussing Utah state issues. Hosted by Natalie Gochnour, John Dougall, and Shireen Ghorbani. Airs Thursdays at 10:30 AM and Sundays at 12:30 PM.
• In the Hive Award-winning current affairs program exploring local politics, arts, culture, history, and environment topics. Hosted by Roger McDonough. Airs Sundays at 12 PM and Thursdays at 10 AM.
• Jazz Time with Steve Williams Jazz music show featuring live performances, interviews, commentary, history, and local jazz calendar events. Hosted by Steve Williams. Airs Sundays from 6 PM to 10 PM.
• Hinckley Institute Radio Hour Weekly program featuring forums on local, national, and international political issues from the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah. Hosted by Anthony Scoma. Airs Wednesdays at 10 AM and Saturdays at 9 AM.
• Community Calendar Volunteer-run event resource for nonprofits featuring community events highlighted live on-air throughout the day.
• Corporate Underwriting Program Business support and sponsorship opportunities for local organizations seeking to underwrite programming in exchange for on-air recognition, spanning arts/entertainment, retail, education/non-profit, corporate/professional services, and dining/food businesses.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Utah Public Radio (UPR)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 28 March 2024After KCPW's closure, UPR 89.1 became the exclusive host of the 'Both Sides of the Aisle' podcast. KCPW's programs and content transitioned to UPR.
• Great Salt Lake CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKCPW partnered with 17 news, media and educational organizations to form the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative focused on informing people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake. Funded through a Knight Foundation grant via the Solutions Journalism Network's Local Media Project.
• Salt Lake TribunecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKCPW and The Salt Lake Tribune co-produced 'Behind the Headlines,' a weekly live broadcast examining top local stories through the eyes of Tribune reporters.
• Hinckley Institute of Politics (University of Utah)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKCPW produced the 'Hinckley Institute Radio Hour,' featuring forums on local, national, and international issues presented by the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• KUNM (University of New Mexico Public Radio): KUNM is a university-licensed, community-supported public radio station mixing NPR programming with local news, music, and culture — directly comparable to KCPW's hybrid national-and-local programming formula.
• Boise State Public Radio (KBSX/KBOI): Boise State Public Radio is a comparable mid-sized, member-supported public radio station serving a single Mountain West metro market with a mix of NPR programming and local shows — closely mirroring KCPW's size and operating model.
• WYPR (Baltimore Public Radio): WYPR is a member-supported public radio station delivering NPR programming and local news/talk content — a directly comparable model to KCPW's NPR carriage plus original local programming.
• Utah Public Radio (UPR): UPR is a USU-operated public radio network serving Utah and is directly comparable as a public radio operator in the same state — notably, it became the exclusive host of KCPW's 'Both Sides of the Aisle' podcast after closure.
• KNAU (Arizona Public Radio): KNAU is a small, member-supported public radio network serving northern Arizona communities — directly comparable to KCPW as a regional public radio operator of similar scale funded by donations and underwriting.
• KRCL (Radio from the Heart of Utah): KRCL is a long-running community/listener-supported radio station in Salt Lake City, comparable to KCPW in audience, funding model (member donations and underwriting), and local programming orientation.
• KPCW (Park City Public Radio): KPCW was the originating 'sister station' to which KCPW was a sibling public radio operator — both were community-supported and aired NPR/BBC programming in Utah. The two are directly comparable in model, market role, and funding structure.

Broad incumbents

• WAMU (American University Radio): WAMU is a substantially larger NPR member station serving the Washington D.C. region with member-supported programming and locally produced news/talk shows — broadly comparable in structure and programming mix.
• KEXP: KEXP is a larger, well-known listener-supported public radio station with a music-and-culture focus plus a globally distributed streaming/podcast footprint, comparable to KCPW on funding model and omnichannel distribution.
• KUER (Utah Public Radio / PBS Utah): KUER is Utah's flagship NPR affiliate and the entity that acquired KCPW. It is directly comparable as a public radio broadcaster serving the same Salt Lake market with member-supported programming, NPR/BBC carriage, and a substantially larger operational footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kcpw
• Facebookfacebook.com/kcpwfm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kcpw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KCPW